Joe Fordman (Earth-1)
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” Joseph Wheatley Fordman is an NPC in The Extras campaign. He was first introduced in Seeds (S01E10) and became a major character in Wildcard (S02E02). Joe is a charming, albeit brooding individual and vigilante. While charismatic on the surface, he hides a sad, dark side that yearns to stop evil and find peace. He is a courageous hero, a skilled fighter and talented detective. He is the ex-fiancé of Margot Audley. Personality Joe Fordman is a former New Yorker and the vigilante known as "Night Falcon". Driven to crime-fighting through the murders of his parents and girlfriend, Joe is propelled through a combination of rage and determination. Joe never backs down from a challenge, no matter how daunting or how against him the odds seem to be. He yearns to make every criminal on the streets pay and he pursues this goal with unrelenting efficiency. To most, Joe is an affable young playboy with personality and charm. Possessing outstanding social skills, Joe was always popular growing up. Easy to talk to, Joe is a good listener and he is skilled at knowing what to say in a social situation. He's got a great sense of humor and possesses a dry wit, making sly comments and witty observations about a person or situation. He's very imaginative and good at improvisation, though he can be somewhat confrontational. Unlike his older self, who has largely tamed his dark side, younger Joe is still struggling with his darker side. Prone to bouts of brooding and depression, Joe is still dealing with the psychological trauma of the day in which his parents and girlfriend were murdered at the hands of his former best friend, a day that ended with said friend committing suicide in front of him. Still haunted by nightmares of the incident, Joe struggles with alcoholism, fits of rage and depression as a result of that fateful day. This was the fuel that began his crusade against criminals: an outlet for Joe to channel his rage and maybe something to help him find peace. Having endured the ultimate betrayal by his former best friend, as well as the failure of the police to stop him and the abuse Joe suffered at the hands of his step father, Joe harbors a natural distrust of others; despite his natural charisma, Joe does not trust others and emotionally keeps them at a distance. His pessimissm causes him to assume the worst about people and to even second-guess his friends and allies. Joe is willing to go to certain lengths and do certain things to get the job that some of the others are not; he is willing to do what is necessary to bring evil people to justice. He is willing to torture criminals, and while this is mostly psychological in nature, he has been shown to engage in physical torture in order to "soften them up". He has also been seen committing breaking and entering, theft, arson, blackmail, forgery and resisting arrest. As he once said, Joe is willing to sink lower and "put his hands in the mud" so the Extras don't have to. For that reason, he is not a public member of the team, as his sometimes questionable metholdogy could endanger the Extras' reputation. Despite this, with Margot's influence, Joe's war on crime has been affected in a major way: his oath of revenge is now tempered by justice. While he will fight criminals and is willing to go to several (very illegal) lengths to do this, he will not kill. He doesn't condone murder and refrains from doing so. He is trained in non-lethal forms of combat and wields only non-lethal weaponry and gadgets. Since meeting Margot and becoming an Extra, Joe's natural temper and depression have been dampened. He is normally quite cheery and fun around Margot, something he has noted and likes a great deal. She seems to draw out the best in him, and when around her, he feels like he used to feel before his parent's deaths. Margot's influence undeniably makes him a better person and a more balanced person. He has begun taking up his old hobbies and passions again, most notably music. He's started to find the beauty of life again and overall, Joe is slowly becoming a happy person. Joe is very proud person and dislikes being told what to do. Brash, passtionate and headstrong, Joe has a tendency to react to situations before he has fully thought them through. He is very impulsive, which has gotten him into a great deal of trouble and led to serious injuries. Determined and stubborn, Joe is also very proud and insists on doing things by himself. Joe has a very compassionate side that hates seeing others in pain. His skill as a listrener, charisma, knack for saying the right thing and natural calm help him be very sympathizing and comforting when he needs to be. He tends to engage in this behavior in his masked persona more often than Justicar, often trying to comfort victims after saving them. The area of his life that he differs the most from his future counterpart is his behavior behind the mask. While Justicar is an entirely different person, Night Falcon retains much of Joe's personality. Despite a growing awareness of responsibility and the adoption of a deeper, gravelly voice similar to the one used by Justicar, Night Falcon is still very quippy, often taunting and verbally demoralizing his opponents. His masked persona comes across as arrogant and sarcastic, often commenting on how slow or sloppy an opponent's fighting style is, or about how stupid they are. This, coupled with his knack for having a gadget to respond to nearly any situation, prove infuriating to enemies. In addition, he tends to continue to show Margot affection, even behind the mask and he often does not use his "Batman Voice" if he thinks there is nobody else around but Margot or other team members. He seems to genuinely enjoy his crimefighting career and he is undeniably passionate about pursuing "the life". While humble about his skill, he tends to be a bit more boastful than his future self. While never to the point of arrogance, Joe comes across as confident and calm in almost any situation. He does not seem to mind being the center of attention and has a hard time keeping a low profile, much to Justicar's chagrin. This does not mean that he cannot remain unseen if he chooses, but he seems to draw attention to himself outside of s job. He has a natural cool and usually tries to keep the hopes of his allies alive. The only exception seems to be when he fails, or when he perceives to have failed. He is very hard on himself and imposes very strict, very high standards on himself. When he fails to live up to them, Joe is incredibly hard on himself, sinking into a depression, usually accompanied by drinking binges and crippling self-loathing. Both behind and outside the mask, Joe is a budding tactical genius, and is a natural at using every available resource to his advantage. This includes not only his equipment and skill, but also psychology, his terrain and light & weather conditions. While he often reacts before he should (which sometimes costs him his advantages), Joe is quickly becoming skilled at manipulating events to favor himself or his allies. He is talented at improvising in the moment, often using very unorthodox methods to emerge victorious over stronger opponents, or those with the advantage of numbers. His most valuable asset, though, is his indomitable willpower. No matter how much injury or punishment he receives, he will continue to fight until his last breath. This was demonstrated as far back as his first night out as a vigilante, where he was shot, beaten and stabbed repeatedly and he continued the fight despite his obviously grievous injuries. He refuses to give up no matter what and has a policy to never surrender, regardless of the circumstances. There is always a way to win, he reasons, you just have to be able to spot it. And he is very good at spotting ways to win. All in all, Joe is a conflicted, troubled hero who, while desperate to remain in the light, is at war with his darker side. With prowess as a fighter and a detective, his ferocity and indomitable will, Joe remains an unstoppable force of good; a valuable ally and a terrifying enemy. History Joe was born the youngest child of the affluent Stephen and Veronica Fordman. Stephen, a prominant prosecuting attorney in New York City, was a benevolent man and a good father. Joe grew up very close to his father, who would often take Joe on trips. Stephen instilled values and morality in his son, driving the importance of justice and doing one's part into Joe's young psyche. Joe saw his father as a hero who put the bad guys in jail, and he vowed to be just like him when hew grew up. Joe was a carefree and irresponsible child who has trouble remembering to clean his room. He was very close to his older sister Kelly, and the two often watched movies and played video games together. Much of his time was spent running amok through the neighborhood and kicking around the local park with his pals, the closest of which was his best friend Kenny, with whom Joe shared a birthday. When Joe was nine, hiss father was killed in a horrible plane crash. While the family received a heafty recompense from the airline, Joe was traumatized at losing his father. The event put some distance between he and Kelly, as well and his mother became withdrawn, leaving nobody to help Joe deal with his father's death. Things only got worse when his mother remarried soon after to a wealthy Manhatten businessman and CEO of the famed HardTech Industries named Dick White. While he treated Veronica well, Dick was apathetic to the children at best but quickly grew to resent them. Dick emotionally and physically abused Joe and Kelly, and as they grew older, Dick sexually abused Kelly as well, while Veronica did nothing to stop any of it, instead pretending she didn't know. As he grew older, Joe began to lash out and misbehave. He and Kenny often got into trouble at school and around the neighborhood. He grew surly and sarcastic, often disrespecting authority and blatantly ignoring direction in class. As he entered high school, Kenny became involved in the drug-using crowd, although Joe did not. Late in his Freshman year, Joe acquired a bottle of Vicodin for Kelly, supposedly to help her with headaches. She strangely made him promise to graduate from high school, to which he agreed. Later that night, Kelly committed suicide by swallowing the bottle of vicodin. This tragedy further destroyed Joe's world and he sank into a depression. The only thing that helped him through that dark summer were his best friend Olivia (who became his girlfriend) and music. He proved a talented musician and when he was sixteen, he and some friends formed a music group they named A Generic Band and later shortened to A Band. Joe began to set his sights to be in the music industry. That same year, Joe and Kenny became estranged as Kenny started experimenting with hard drugs, including heroin. On December 20, 2013, Kenny accosted Joe, trying to get money for drugs. Joe refused and later found out Kenny had murdered both his parents, taking their money: a grand total of $42.36. He rushed to Olivia's house after receiving a frantic phone call that Kenny was trying to get into her house. Joe tried talking Kenny down, but the addict mortally wounded Olivia, who died in Joe's arms. Joe turned Kenny over to the police but the addict managed to escape and was later found murdered by a drug dealer Kenny tried to rob. All of this occurred over the course of a single night, which Joe refers to as "the Worst Night of his life". In the aftermath of this traumatic incident, he sunk into a deep depression, turning to alchol and partying to ease the pain. Then, four days afterward, Joe was attending a party at a Manhatten night club when it was attacked by a group of Techno-Thieves wielding Sonic weapons, who demanded the club turn over their valuables. They killed two patrons and would have done the same to Joe had a red and purple-clad vigilante not literally dropped in from the ceiling and saved the day. In the wake of the battle, the vigilante told Joe to stop feeling sorry for himself and that his father would be ashamed. He told Joe to use his rage and channel it into something productive. Was he pissed at life? At criminals? Then do something about it. That night changed Joe's life and he set out to use his rage, his modicum of fighting skill and his considerable wealth to bring the fight to the criminals. For the first time in a long time, his life had purpose. As he set out on his first night of vigilantism, he was unaware that he had a literaly Guardian Angel watching over him and that his life was about to change in ways he could never imagine... Notable Accomplishments *Note= For the pusposes of clarity and brevity, this list will encompass those accomplishments that Joe has achieved since the start of the campaign. *Became a vigilante known as "The Beater" (Seeds, S01E11) *Defeated The Nihilists (March, 2014) *Burned down a meth lab and implicated the meth ring involved (April, 2014) *Received a Scholarship for Musical Excellence to Empire State University (May, 2014) *Became "The Night Falcon" (Wildcard, S02E02) *Moved to Northampton, Washington (Wildcard, ''S02E02) *Joined the hunt for WildCard (''Wildcard, S02E02) *Officially began apprenticeship with Justicar (Clay, S02E03) *Tortured the Mayor of Seattle into peaceful negotiations with Nemo (Aquatic, S02E04) *Fought in the Battle of Barstow (Masks, S02E07) *Re-formed A Band (Masks, S02E07) *Attended meeting of "Tomorrow's Children" (Idols, S02E09) *Fought in the Battle of the Sidekicks (Idols, S02E09) *Fought against the Unity but succumbed to its influence (Unity, S02E10) *Fought in the Battle of Stone Bridge (Horde, S02E13) Notable Victories *The Demolition Crew (WIldcard, S02E02) *Raven (Idols, S02E09) *Rough-House (Horde, S02E13) *Shimmer (Horde, S02E13) *Skipper (Horde, S02E13) Relationships with Others Joe is naturally charming and very charismatic, so he tends to get along very well with others. He is easy to talk to and easily makes friends, despite holding them at arm's length emotionally. He enjoys talking to others and has proven to be a good and loyal friend. Margot is Joe's whole world; his best friend and the love of his life. Joe would do literally anything for her, including breaking his one rule. Indeed, the only circumstance that he would commit murder would be to save Margot's life from Caleb. To Joe, Margot is the most beautiful woman on the planet. But more than that, she is literally his guardian angel: she appeared from nowhere the first night he fought crime to tend his wounds and offer him encouragement. She inspired him to keep on fighting because more than anything, she represents all of the good in the world that, despite everything he'd lost, Joe still believes in. She is encouraging and genuinely inspires Joe to be a better man, both outside and behind the mask. Margot--not Guardian Angel--is Joe's hero and he secretly aspires to be more like her. She is perfect in his eyes, in every conceivable way: physically and spiritually, and Joe sees himself as nothing without her. Morty is one of Joe's closer friends, and despite Morty's propensity for slacking off, goofing around and just not taking anything seriously, he is one of the two Extras that Joe trusts implicitly. Morty has shown he is a good friend to Margot on more than one occasion and he has proven his courage and skill as a hero many times. On a more personal note, Morty is a good person and Joe enjoys hanging out with him. Their friendship has been strained of late, though, as he beat Morty up in his depression after losing to Archnemesis (Oblivion, S02E14) and the subsequent break-up with Margot. Joe regrts hurting Morty, though he hasn't apologized or tried to make it better since. Avery is the other Extras that Joe trusts absolutely. Avery is Joe's best friend outside of Margot and the two have found a lot of common ground. They respect each other as men and as heroes, and the two find they enjoy fighting alongside each other. Avery has also proven himelf as a friend to Margot and as a hero, and as such, Gangbanger is one of Night-Falcon's most respected and trusted allies. Even after the break-up, Joe and Avery have remained on good terms with one another. Joe is not sure what to think about the alien who calls himself Benjamin Puckett. As an alien, Ben has been naive and acted very strange, and Joe is unsure what to make of him. He's not sure he trusts him at all, despite all Ben has done for Margot and for the team. While he does believe he is extraterrestrial in origin, Joe dislikes Ben and always keeps a watchful eye on him when they're together. Shawn Tiler is a friend to Joe, but he does not trust him like he does the others. This might be because Shawn tends to be quiet and reserved, mostly observing situations. While Shawn has proven himself a loyal Extra and a capable bass player for A Band, Joe and Shawn just aren't that close. Post break-up with Margot, he and Shawn have started to get a little closer, though Shawn has clearly taken Margot's side in the break-up. Maxwell Puckett, Margot's grandfather, is like a stern father-figure for Joe. He really does like Max, though he feels very intimidated by the old man. He strives to impress him and wants his approval, although their strained relationship has made this a difficult goal to attain. Joe likes Miriam fine, although he finds her a little bit high strung. He finds her mother-hen tendencies to be endearing and he sees her like a big sister, which is comforting in a lot of ways. Clay has proven an ally to the team but Joe trusts him the least of the entire team. As Clay's copies proved murderers and one as a rapist, Joe does not like the idea of Clay being alone with Margot. He finds Clay kind of creepy and despite all he's done for the team, Joe finds it difficult to move past their initial encounter. Joe does not like Rick at all and he truthfully thinks he's a massive douche. He's had more than one urge to beat the shit out of him due to how he's treated Margot, but he has refrained for Margot's sake. The only thing to say about Caleb Blackburn, alias The Professor, is that Joe hates him with the same passion that he loves Margot. He sees Caleb as a blight upon the very Earth, and he wishes more than anything that he can kill him and save the world some misery. The only thing staying his hand is literally Margot. Powers and Abilities Joe is not an extrahuman and therefore possesses no superhuman powers. Due to his training with Justicar, however, combined with his own natural talent, has given him a set of skills that leave him suited to a life of crimefighting and combat on an extrahuman scale. *'Acrobatics: '''Joe is a prodigious natural athlete and acrobat, able to use his body's natural strength and coordination to perform amazing feats of agility. He is especially proficient in the discipline of Parkour, which involves running, climbing, flipping and otherwise skillfull navigatiing urban obstacles in the most efficient manner possible. *'Archery:' Joe grew up taking archery lessons. While not on Miriam's level, Joe is a capable marksman and is able to make surprisingly difficult shots if the situation calls for it. *'Disguise: Joe is skilled in creating and maintaining disguises. *'''Driving: Joe is a confident and talented driver, specifically land vehicles. He is capable of maintaining control and maneuverablity of cars at high speeds in urban environments. *'Escapology: '''Joe is trained in the practice of escaping from restraints and other traps. He can escape from handcuffs, straight jackets (though these are difficult for him), cages, coffins, burning buildings, fish-tanks and other perils, often in combination with each other. He always keeps multiple lockpicks on himself in case of emergencies. *'Indomitable Will:' While he has no superpowers, Joe does have an extreme, almost superhuman "force of will". *'Intimidation: By manner of his natural charisma and training from Justicar, Joe has the ability tocommand respect and cooperation through the use of fear. This ability proves particularly useful in Interrogation. *'''Investigation: Through training with Justicar, Joe has growing proficiency at deductive reasoning. In mot cases, this skill is applied to the area of criminal investigation, and Joe is able to bring various clues together to paint an accurate picture of a crime scene and the criminals who committed the crime. *'Leadership:' With his charisma, Joe is a natural leader with superlative team skills. He is a natural in the areas of rallying, uniting and inspiring his allies. In most cases, he defers leadership responsibilities to Margot or others, despite his natural talent. *'Martial Arts:' As Night-Falcon, Joe is trained in a number of martial arts disiplines, with an emphasis on Savate, Aikido and Escrima, taught to him by Justicar. **'Aikido' **'Boxing' **'Capoeira' **'Escrim'a **'Krav Maga' **'Royal British Marines Martial Arts' *'Multilinguism:' Having the finest education as the stepson of one of the richest men in America, he speaks with fluency in English, German, Chinese and Russian. *'Physical Training:' Through a combination of rigorous physical training and an increasingly healthy lifestyle inspiried by Margot and Justicar, he is in the uppr echelons of athleticism. He is on the level with low-level Olympian athletes and he continues to grow through his training with Justicar. *'Stealth:' He is capable of breaching high security facilities without being detected. *'Tracking:' Joe is capable of following tracks and other slight signs in order to find his quarry. His manner of tracking is similar to that of the African Bushmen. Paraphernelia As Night-Falcon, Joe is equipped with a number of gadgets and equipment that he uses and impliments in his war on crime. Equipment *'Night-Falcon Suit: '''This uniform is actually Joe's second costume, given to him by Justicar. This uniform is made of a Nomex fire-resistant, triple-weave, Kevlar-lined material. Like Margot and Justicar's uniforms, the suit is outfitted with nanites that react to impact and damage, and is capable of repairing itself when damaged. The costume is also climate controlled and insulated against electrocution. The suit is light sensitive, darkening when there is more light in an area. This costume is tailored to Joe's unique style of crime fighting, and so has fewer body-armor layers than Justicar or Margot's costumes, anticipating a decreased need for shock-absorption and an increased capacity for motion and agility. A caveat of this configuration can be exploited by capable fighters who are both fast and strong, such as Hyperion. Should Night Falcon need to engage an enemy who is capable of exploiting this weakness, he has supplemental body armor overlays that he can attach to his gauntlets, his mask, shoulders and boots. He must anticipate their use beforehand and they are not kept on his person. The mask, when combined with the goggles, cover his entire face. The mask is fitted with a radio and rebreather. **'Gauntlets: The gauntlets are made of the same insulating material as the uniform, but overfitted with hardened kevlar plates on a titanium-dipped fiber that are reinforced to rebound the impact of punches and kicks. The left gauntlet has a computer system integrated into it that acts as a radio and is fully internet capable. A USB-cable is fitted into the gauntlet, allowing Joe to interface with any computer system. **'Goggles: '''These goggles are fitted over the costume's full-face mask. The goggles are capable of being lit (yellow when operating standard and red when operating with night-vision), giving the illusion of staring, unblinking falcon's eyes. The goggles have spectral settings, night-vision settings, infared settings. They react to surrounding light and allow Joe to see twice as far as the naked eye would allow in conditions of dim lighting. The goggles can be worn lifted up (much like sunglasses on the head) or removed and worn separate from the costume. *'Utility Belt: 'Although seemingly unremarkable in appearance, this utility belt remains one of Joe's most important tools. Composed of a grey leather strap with a solid steel buckle, the utility belt houses pouches that contain the majority of Night-Falcon's gadgets and tools in his war on crime. While the line-up of gear he has on him varies depending on resources and the mission at hand, Night-Falcon can usually be found with some or all of the following on hand in his utility belt at any time: **'Infared Flashlight **'Smoke Capsules' **'Fingerprint Analysis Kit' **'Basic First Aid Kit' **'Lockpicking Tools' **'Tear Gas Pellets' **'Micro-Recorder' **'Handcuffs' **'Sedatives' **'Anti-Fire Foam' **'Flash-Bang Capsules' **'Silver Nitrate' Weapons *'Escrima Sticks:' These hardened weapons are simple, lightweight clubs that are surprisingly durable and are capable of inflicting great damage to opponents when used in conjunction with the Escrima style of fighting. These sticks are capable of releasing an electrified charge. *'Talons:' These weapons are modified arrowheads that are designed to be thrown in a manner similar to throwing knives or shuriken. They are his primary weapon in combat. He has further designed several variations that can explode, let off concussive blasts, or an electro-magnetic pulse. *'Throwing Razor Discs:' These discs are the size of a miniDVD disc (approximately 8cm in diameter) with fine, razor-sharp sides and are meant to be thrown at a target. While deadly is thrown correctly, the discs are primarily used for disarming or distraction purposes, due to their low damage output. Joe is highly skilled in their use, but does not often use them. *'Hypersonic Grenades: '''These small grenades are really more small charges that, when primed, emit a high-pitched frequency that disorients normal targets and nearly cripple those with superhuman hearing. Weaknesses For all his strength, Joe does have a few weaknesses: *'Anger: Due to the tragic events that have peppered his life, Joe has grown to harbor deep rage and resentment. This anger is kept at bay by Margot, but can violently explode in instances where Joe is not completely in control, such as after his defeat at the hands of Archnemsis in Oblivion. *'''Arrogance: On the battlefield only, Joe might one day get in over his head and due to overconfidence in his own abilities might find himself unable to cope. *'Pessimist:' Joe is a natural pessimist and has the tendency to expect the worst. Notes *His Play-By actor is a younger Joseph Gordon-Levitt. *Joseph means "God will increase". *Based on a combination of Nightwing and Spider-Man. Some elements mirror those of Tony Stark. *He is the first love interest to be younger than the protagonist. Trivia *He is the 10,244th iteration of Joe Fordman in Earth-1's timeline. *His favorite color is green, though it was formerly red. *His favorite animal are Falcons. Specifically, it is the Peregrine Falcon. *Is capable of playing Guitar, Keyboards and Bass Guitar. *Joe is the first non-powered character to officially join the Extras. *His favorite movie is The Matrix. Since seeing it with Margot, Alphaville has also become a favorite. *His favorite band is Band of Horses, though he really loves indie music and classic rock of any kind. *Loves Doctor Who and sci-fi of all kinds. Is learning more about comic books through his relationship with Margot. *As indicated in his parent's will, as the sole surviving heir of Dick White, Joe is set to inherit the majority share of stock in HardTech Industries. Category:Humans Category:Male Characters Category:Martial Arts Category:Gadgets Category:Chaotic Good Characters Category:Extras Category:Extras Season 1 Category:Extras Season 2 Category:Extras Season 3 Category:Former Extras Category:Native of Earth-1 Category:Olympus Academy Students